Professional Documents
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Press Statement
30 September 2009
Dismissal of Impeachment Complaint: Impunity amidst calamity
The dismissal of the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merciditas Guttierez
was another blow to the battle against impunity. Despite the plea of the members of the
minority to be given the opportunity to study the arguments presented by the majority, the
Justice Committee dismissed the impeachment complaint on grounds never heard before in
any impeachment complaint. The Majority mainly based its decision on the following
grounds:
(i) The impeachment complaint cannot entertain the issues in the impeachment
complaint such as the mega pacific deal because they are pending before the
courts on appeal and therefore, the Committee must defer to the courts and
avoid possible conflict with court decisions. Furthermore, it cannot even discuss
the issues because most of them are sub judice.
(ii) There are no ultimate facts in the impeachment complaint
The impeachment proceeding is the only mechanism left in the Constitution to hold
accountable public officials who are immune from charges in court. Since these officials,
like the Ombudsman, cannot be charged in court, impeachment therefore is the only resort
left for the public who feel aggrieved by the acts of these officials. it is absurd for the
majority to argue that an impeachment complaint must be dismissed because the issues in
that complaint are “pending before the courts”. If there is any conflict at all, it is the court
in fact that must defer to the impeachment proceedings rather than the other way around.
There will be no occasion, however, for any conflict to exist since the impeachment
charges now pending in courts on appeal such as the mega pacific deal or the Sec. Nani
Perez case are different in nature from the impeachment proceedings. Unlike in the
impeachment case the Ombudsman cannot be impeached or deprived of her office in any of
these court cases thereby making it impossible for a conflict of decision to take place.
The only issue that the Committee should find at this stage is whether the allegations
and charges, if proven, constitutes an impeachable offense, that is all. Even if complainants
are ready to present evidence, the evidence or proof to support these allegations will come
at the next stage when the committee holds a hearing on probable cause. To dismiss the
impeachment complaints, therefore, for absence of “ultimate facts” is absurd because the
complaint is littered with many allegations that show offenses committed by the
Ombudsman. The case of Euro generals for example, is already complete in itself since,
Gen. Eliseo de la Paz has officially admitted to his illegal acts, notably (i) that he authorized
the disbursement of large amounts of public funds to himself, which is a violation of both
the COA rules and our anti graft laws; (b) that he brought out of the country more than
US$ 10,000 without declaring the same in violation of Philippine laws and rules. Because of
these admissions, there is even no ultimate fact that needs to be proven in this case. If only
for the euro generals case, the Justice Committee should not only declare the impeachment
complaint sufficient in substance but also, that the ombudsman should be impeach for such
clear transgression of her oath and Philippine laws for refusing to prosecute the euro
generals despite their admissions.
The dismissal decision came, as swift and as unthinking, as the storm Ondoy. It was
as if the majority declared that there may be a crime in the fertilizer scam, or the euro
generals case, or the mega pacific deal, but there is no one that the Ombudsman shall
prosecute. There is a crime, but there is no criminal. Dismissal of the impeachment
complaint was a vote in favor of impunity in the midst of calamity.